TODAY IN HISTORY

The Associated PressPublished: October 30, 2011 8:00AM

Today is Sunday, Oct. 30, the 303rd day of 2011. There are 62 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 30, 1961, the Soviet Union tested a hydrogen bomb, the "Tsar Bomba," with a force estimated at about 50 megatons. The Soviet Party Congress unanimously approved a resolution ordering the removal of Josef Stalin's body from Lenin's tomb.

On this date:

In 1735, the second president of the United States, John Adams, was born in Braintree, Mass.

In 1893, the U.S. Senate gave final congressional approval to repealing the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890.

In 1938, the radio play "The War of the Worlds," starring Orson Welles, aired on CBS.

In 1974, Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman in the eighth round of a 15-round bout in Kinshasa, Zaire, known as the "Rumble in the Jungle," to regain his world heavyweight title.

In 1985, schoolteacher-astronaut Christa McAuliffe witnessed the launch of the space shuttle Challenger, the same craft that carried her and six other crew members to their deaths in January 1986.

Ten years ago: NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey snapped its first picture of Mars, one week after the spacecraft safely arrived in orbit around the Red Planet.

Five years ago: Larry Nelson and Vijay Singh were among five people inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

One year ago: Comedians Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart headlined a "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" in Washington attended by tens of thousands.